The government must now focus on achieving the economic targets set for 2016-17
LAHORE: The Economic Survey of Pakistan is a budget document that attempts to give a true picture of the country’s economy every year. This year, the economic survey gave a mixed picture of Pakistan’s economy. Although there has been a reduction in the budget deficit and a decline in inflation, the government has failed to achieve the GDP growth target, primarily due to the poor performance of the agriculture sector.
According to statistics, the GDP growth remained at 4.7 per cent, missing the target by a wide margin of 0.8 per cent. Nevertheless, as compared to the agriculture sector, the industrial sector grew by 6.8 per cent against the target of 6.4 per cent, which is a positive development.
Moreover, foreign direct investment also increased by 5.4 per cent which sheds light on the steps taken by the PML-N government to invite foreigners to invest in Pakistan.
‘Govt committed to economic uplift’
Since economic growth and human development go hand in hand, I strongly believe that countries that have the best economic growth are those that have good governance, and good governance derives from a devoted and strong leadership. Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning. Therefore, what has been done by the government so far is good but more needs to be done.
The government must now focus on achieving the economic targets set for 2016-17. It is pertinent to mention here that human rights are not only violated by terrorism and repression, but also by unfair economic structures that create huge inequalities.
Hence, every effort should be made to develop a successful economic development strategy that focuses on improving the skills of the workforce, reducing the cost of doing business and making available the resources businesses need to compete and thrive in today’s global economy.
Syed Ali Qasim
Published in The Express Tribune, June 10th, 2016.
Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.
